I have two kids, two cats, TWO dogs, a husband, and a minivan. I live in the suburbs now and try to stay sane. Some days, I succeed.

July 21, 2010

How smartphones have changed travel with families

Traveling today is different than it was just 2-3 years ago.

First, it's a little easier to take some basic safety precautions. Before setting out, snap some pictures of the kids in their travel clothes. If you somehow get separated, it will be simple to show others what your child was wearing.

It almost goes without saying, but I personally like to put my kids in bright clothes on travel days, or something memorable (like my son's awesome yellow and red iron-man t-shirt.)

Two seasoned travelers.

Consider a product like Mabel's Labels 411 bracelets which give you an easy way to provide contact information that stays with your child.

When teaching your children their full name, address, and phone number, toss in your cell phone number, too. You can try some of these math tricks although our technique of "call daddy's cell phone" has worked just fine, too. (They're motivated to remember the number so they can be the one to dial it first!) It's one more way they can help someone find you if you do get separated (remember it's a good idea for your child to know both your first and last name.)

If your child is too young to remember your number and you haven't had the chance to order the 411 bracelets, you can always put your name and information on a small slip of paper and tuck it into their pockets or write it on their garment tag with a laundry marker.

Remind your children if they do get lost or separated to follow Gavin DeBecker's advice and look for another mommy/woman. I told my children this rule again recently and mentioned how most mommies have cell phones and would make absolutely sure that the child finds his or her mom because we know what it would be like if we were separated from our children. They totally got this.

Getting around in another town is much different with a smartphone with GPS. Travel used to involve a lot of printed-out instructions, concierge directions, or notes written down from hurried phone calls to friends, including highway names and turns, where the tollbooths were. I'd always be up late the night before a trip writing down all the instructions, printing things out, collecting them and safely tucking them (into a pocket of a bag I would then forget about, but that's a different story...)

Now I just rely on my phone. It's smarter than me, after all. And if my phone's GPS ever fails, I can always just call the person we're visiting.